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Common Core ELA1st GradeReading: Literature

RL.1.5: Storybooks and Information Books

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.5 · Cluster: Craft and Structure.

All 41 1st Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 1, Reading: Literature · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RL.1.5 Means in Plain English

First graders explain how storybooks differ from information books. A story has characters, a problem and made-up events; an information book teaches true facts, often with headings, labels and photos. Hattie the hedgehog wishing to be soft is a story; hedgehogs curling into a ball is information.

The standard asks for a wide reading of both, so children sort by how a book works, not by its topic: both texts here are about hedgehogs. Kindergartners told storybooks from poems (RL.K.5). In 2nd grade attention turns to how a story is built, beginning to end (RL.2.5).

RL.1.5 I Can Statements

  • I can tell if a book tells a story or gives facts.
  • I can name the parts a story has.
  • I can find clues that a book teaches true facts.

RL.1.5 Worked Example

Two short bits about the same animal, one from a storybook and one from an information book, and two answers about them.

Read the Story
Storybook: Hattie the hedgehog wanted a hug. “Ouch!” said Mole. “Your spines are too sharp!”Hattie sighed. “I wish I were soft.”Information book: A hedgehog is a small animal covered in sharp spines.When it is scared, a hedgehog rolls into a tight ball.Hedgehogs hunt for worms and bugs at night.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Which part is from a storybook, and which is from an information book? How can you tell?
Not Yet“They’re both the same, because they’re both about hedgehogs.”It sorts by topic. Both texts share a topic on purpose, so the topic can’t tell them apart.
Meets the Standard“The first is a story. Hattie has a name, she wants a hug and she talks. The second gives information. It tells true facts about all hedgehogs, like that they roll into a ball when they’re scared.”It names a story feature, a character who talks and wants something, and an information feature, true facts about every hedgehog.
Question Stems to Use
This is a story because…This book gives information because…Does it have characters?Is it true about every…?What did I learn?

Common Mistakes with RL.1.5

Sorting by topic

“Both are about hedgehogs, so they’re the same.”

Try this: Read a story and a fact book on the same topic back to back, so the topic can never be the clue.

Real animal means real facts

“The story is true because hedgehogs are real.”

Try this: Ask “Can a real hedgehog talk or ask for a hug?” A real animal can live in a made-up story.

Judging only by the pictures

“It has drawings, so it’s a story.”

Try this: Check the words too: does it teach something true about every hedgehog, or follow one character? Many fact books use drawings, not photos.

Where RL.1.5 Fits

Comes BeforeRL.K.5Recognize common kinds of texts, like storybooks and poems.
AlongsideRI.1.5Use headings, a table of contents and a glossary, the features that mark an information book.RI.1.10Read informational books at a 1st-grade level, the other half of the wide reading.
Comes NextRL.2.5Describe how a story is built, with a beginning that introduces it and an ending that wraps it up.

Practice RL.1.5

Quick Check

  1. Who is Hattie?
  2. What does a hedgehog do when it is scared?
  3. Name one clue that the first part is a story.

RL.1.5: Other Names

RL.1.5CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.5

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.